Press TV had broadcast in North America on the Galaxy 19 satellite platform. The channel did not say when it was dropped.

New sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury Department this week blacklisted the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and its director, Ezatollah Zarghami, which oversees Iran's broadcast channels.

Press TV said in a statement on Friday evening that its being dropped from Galaxy 19 was a "flagrant violation of freedom of speech".

In October, the Paris-based Eutelsat, one of Europe's leading satellite providers, cut Iranian state television and radio broadcasts to comply with tougher European Union sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Galaxy 19 is operated by Luxembourg-based Intelsat, according to the firm's website. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The European Union stepped up sanctions on Iran's banking, shipping, and industrial sectors in October over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme which the West fears is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge. (Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Rosalind Russell)